Reviews by davidchollar:

not long ago tonight i tried the hoegaarden original witbier for the first time. with that plesant experience fresh in mind, i must say the crand cru is no disappointment, but certainly no surprise.

looks more like a belgian pale than the original white, milky, cloudy beer. this one is a little more orange, but very cloudy and thick, quite bubbly with an awesome off-white head. smells like a really good hefeweizen. fruit and spice, banana and clove. the higher abv is not noticeable in the nose. to me, for my first try, this smells just like the original.

tastes a litle more intense. although the higher abv works well with the flavor, this is obviously stronger than the original. flavor has a lot of character, complex and enjoyable. the mouthfeel is smooth to thick. overall this is a good one for sipping, but i don't want more than one at a time

More User Reviews:

Appearance: A cloudy golden pour with a white head that fast awfully fast.

Smell: Semi-sweet nose. Hints of raw ugar and honey w/ some roasted malts in there as well.

Taste: The sweetness of the nose is really toned down on the palate. More of an earthy flavour escapes here and notes of wheat and a full bready flavour pop up as well. A very warming and fullfulling finish.

Mouthfeel: Good body....a very lively and rich mouthfeel.

Drinkability: A solid beer. Not outstanding, nothing to rave about....but it's very good.

Looks just like the commercial export, perhaps a touch darker. Smells the very similar if not the same. Taste is all clementines, coriander, lemons, and wheat. Not too complex or interesting and really, seemingly too similar to regular Hoegaarden to deserve its own name. Alright for a euro or two.

Similar to its commercial counterpart, but twice as tasty, a bit darker and strong. Had this bought for me at Kaffee De Hopduvel in Ghent, Belgium by a gentleman named Vincent (and family). He mentioned that the Grand Cru is more like the original Hoegaarden prior to its becoming commercialized. Wonderful estery aromas with banana and spice notes. Very malty sweet with loads of esters and a slight bitter finish. Wow, what a beer!

Presentation: 33 cl brown slender Euro style bottle with a “Best Before End” date on the back label. Also states that this beer is bottled conditioned.

Appearance: Cloudy, yet vibrant, pale orange colour with a tiny bubbled creamy looking white lace that does a fine job of sticking around for a while. Preferably served in a tulip glass, this sample was served in a traditional Hoegaarden Grand Cru tulip glass.

Smell: Ripe topical fruit (plantain, pineapple and mango come to mind), alcohol esters with a faint ghost like solvent aroma. Medicinal phenols are laid back in the mildly vinous aroma.

Taste: Full mouth feel of a medium body with a carbonation and viscosity that swirls around in the mouth. Such smoothness only comes from bottle conditioned brews, this adds to the beer as well to keep the mouth feel natural and rounded. Yeast flavours floats on to the palate with a light dry nutty flavour, alcohol is quick to warm the body even before the flavour subside. Esters are flush and playful with light solvent and medicinal phenolic flavour rushing around. Fruitiness is explosive with hasten suggestions of pineapple, star fruit and papaya. Hops go to the back right away though are seen in a quick and small bitterness just to balance. Spiciness is not to be forgotten characteristic, not only bits of coriander and citric peel undertones are there but a complex mix of spice flavour are derived from the phenols and alcohol. Somewhat on the dry side and blatantly full of flavour even far into the finish.

Notes: Ouch, this beer is a gift from the gods and it shall smite thee and then make the drinker feel its ever holy wrath of esters and alcohol. Once the light is seen then the mortal shall be one with beer. Serious beer, a beer to respect and enjoy to the fullest of course.

S: Predominant orange peel with a background of banana and baking spices and slight suggestions of tropical fruit.

T & M: Drinking this beer reminds me of eating a slice of freshly baked banana bread. There's a thick mouthfeel, with explosive, but soft carbonation, that gives me the impression that I'm eating a meal. Bananas are the major player in the flavor profile, but a little bit of caramel comes through on the finish.

O: I think they went overboard on the banananess, but in fairness I'm drinking this at a slightly higher temp (maybe around 50-55F). Perhaps a cooler serving temperature would show better. The carbonation style isn't up my alley - too foamy.

T-Wheat dominates, followed quickly with a lingering yeasty, bittering hoppy finish. Some orange notes and a hint of spice and clove.

M-Alcohol well hidden for a brew over 8% but it is still there. Lots of carbonation in this brew. Medium bodied. A bit of a lingering slightly bitter finish.

D-Pretty solid given the strength.

O-I remember liking this beer a lot more the first time I had it. I seem to recall thinking it tasted like a Hoegaarden on steroids. Then I found a bottle that had aged about a year in my cellar and it definitely wasn't as good as I remember, now that I'm drinking a fresher bottle it still does not taste as good as I remember. Perhaps my taste has changed or the beer has, I'd guess on the former. I won't be seeking this one out again-way too many better beers in Belgium.

A 330ml bottle with a BB of June 2012. I saw this on a trip to Belgium last September and thought I'd give it a whirl. I like the regular Hoegaarden now and again, though it's rather cloying after more than one.

Poured into a Stella chalice. A very hazy golden colour with small specks of yeast floating around. I did pour a bit fast! Good carbonation with a column of fine bubbles rising from the centre of the glass. Large foamy off-white head that subsided after a minute or so. Big aroma of sweet golden malt, fruity esters, yeast, light spice and a distinctive whiff of alcohol.

A complex flavour that achieves a good balance between sweet and bitter. Light malt and fruitiness, some banana notes. A warming taste of alcohol and some bitterness upon swallowing. Mouthfeel is velvety smooth and slightly drying - coats the tongue and lingers....

An impressive Belgian white beer, almost like having a meal rather than a drink. Probably wouldn't want more than one per session - it sticks to the mouth. Well crafted, and worth seeking out.

Medium dark gold colour, with dense thick head, that sticks well to the glass. Heavy sweet aroma, reminiscent of a barley wine, but with a spicy hint. Taste reflects this, typical Belgium character, though very sweet and obvious alcohol content. Good after taste, not too cloying though a little too sweet for my liking, and surely one or two glasses enough to savour in an evening. Not a session beer, and should be served just very slightly chilled. Not one of the finest example's of the style but worth trying.

Very nice cloudy orange colour with a big white head. Rich smell of citrus smells a little pepper too. The taste is very peppery with some hints of citrus. It is stong but you don't taste the alcohol you just feel the warmth of it. A beer for warm summer evenings.

Purchased as part of Hoegaarden gift pack that had been sitting on my cellar for some time. The beer poured a bright golden color with a active carbonation body into a snifter and had a nice fluffy white head. The aroma had some very present hop nose with some good citrus tones. The taste was an enjoyable mix of citrus hops bite and a touch of sweetness to round things out, all lined by some spice from the present alcohol touch.

There is grand cru I have liked, but this is not one of them. Fresh from Belgium. It looked nice and fresh, beautiful head, and a whiff of cardemon and cloves. But it went down like medicine and i could not finish much at all. Tangerine and melon harshness, every flavour I avoid.

Exp 10/21/2012A: Lots of small carbonation bubbles violently racing to the surface in tidal gusts, jetting bits of sediment around the chalice. Just under a finger of even and dense creamy foam. Mildly dark yellow on the edges and tangerine in the center. Poured without last bit.S: Super yeasty, hefeweizen yeasty and less like the yeast I expect from witbiers. Light citrusy peach/apricot cream. Pretty good.T: Better than I remember it being. Alcohol is quite masked, with only a slight heaviness from the alcohol. Oh, I see now that it's not a witbier, but kind of in that family. Bready with a bit of citrus. M: Mild micro carbonation, on the soft side, implied tartness, but not tart.O: Pretty much everything about it is good, or even great, but I'm not in love. It's like being able to appreciate how good a renaissance painting is, but wouldn't want to have it on your wall.